The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from the Ely District started last Monday, Feb. 8, gathering and removing approximately 100 excess wild horses from public and private lands adjacent to U.S. Highway 93 and State Route 322 in and outside the Caliente Herd Areas (HAs) Complex and Eagle Herd Management Area (HMA) in eastern Nevada. The helicopter which help in the gathering is necessary to provide for public and animal safety.
The District is removing up to 50 wild horses from between Pioche and Eagle Valley that have moved outside the Eagle HMA in search of forage. Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Eagle HMA is 100-210 wild horses. The current population is 1,370 wild horses. The District is removing up to 50 wild horses from Oak Spring Summit west of Caliente, that have moved outside the Caliente Complex in search of forage. The Caliente Complex is managed for zero wild horses. The current population is 796 wild horses.
The gather is expected to take four to six days to complete. A veterinarian is on site during gathering operations, which is conducted by a contractor. The gathered animals will be transported to the Axtell Contract Off-Range Corrals in Axtell, Utah, where they will be offered for adoption to qualified individuals. Un-adopted horses will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and treated, and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The BLM does not sell or send any horses to slaughter. The Eagle-Caliente Complex Emergency Gather and impacts are described and analyzed in the Ely District Public Safety and Nuisance Gather Environmental Assessment available at http://1.usa.gov/23ws5je.
A Gather Information Hotline has been established at 775-861-6700. A recorded message will provide updated gather activities. Gather reports will be posted on the BLM Ely District website at http://on.doi.gov/1lGnDYC.
For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at (775) 289-1842 or chanefel@blm.gov.